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Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Peach Blueberry Pie: Whole again

My TV broke on Friday morning.

I should have known it was coming. I'd had the TV in question – a Symphonic
19'' tube TV with built-in VHS – since my sophomore year of college, 10 years
ago. I'd been so proud of it at the time. It felt like a big deal to spend $200
on anything, and the enormity of making that kind of financial decision without
consulting my parents made me feel grown up – even if I did still send my mom
all my essays to proofread before turning into my professors.

I loved the archaic TV. Loved it so much that when I graduated, I shipped it
2,000 miles across the country to meet me In Los Angeles as I embarked upon my
post-collegiate life. I never intended to keep it as long as I did, never
imagined that it would follow me through three different apartments, yet I
never felt compelled to buy a new one. The
picture was clear, the volume worked properly, and I could still watch all the
episodes of "Grey's Anatomy" that my (then) Patrick Dempsey-lovin'
heart desired.

While logically I should have suspected that my TV had a shelf life, just like
the open bag of Everything Pretzel Crisps in my kitchen cabinet that went stale
two months ago, it came as a shock to me when it stopped working on Friday
morning.

Even after the fifth time the TV snapped off mere moments after I'd turned it
on, I still maintained an air of optimism (read: denial).

"It will be fine," I told myself. "It just needs to rest. When I
come home tonight it will be just like new and I can watch the end of the Woman's
Gymnastics All-Around while I eat chocolate covered vanilla ice cream bon bons
with a cookie crust."

When I arrived home, however, it was still broken -- still defiant against my
greatest efforts to save the soul of the 1990s in electronic form. The
frustration slayed me. Exhausted from the work week, the silent echo of my
TV-less apartment gnawed at my resolve, weakening it to that of a whimpering,
whining three-year-old who wasn't getting her way.

And I was helpless to do anything about it.

It felt indicative of everything I've been feeling for the past six weeks.
Helpless against the disinterest of a boy. Helpless against the ever-growing
list of expenses infringing on my ability to eat at Osteria Mozza like its my
personal pasta catering company. And
helpless against the ever-growing list of to-do's that keep shredding my free
time into barely recognizable slivers -- ten minutes to read the new Jennifer
Weiner book my friend Ali gave me, five minutes to call my mom on my walk home
from work, two minutes to hit the delete button on the barely comprehensible
message from the latest rocket scientist on OkCupid.

The feeling stayed with me through the night, asserting itself in the morning
with the abrasive silence of my apartment, and pummeling me in the afternoon as
the TV "specialist" at Best Buy tried to tick up the extras for the
32'' inch LED TV I never even wanted to begin with.

"Just a suggestion," He said, holding up a $39.99 surge protector to replace
the one I currently own.

"Just a suggestion," He said, pointing to the 4-year warranty for
again, $39.99.

"Just a suggestion," He said, leading me in the direction of the 47''
Plasma screens.

"No," I said firmly, desperate to get out of there so I could get
home to the kitchen and feel something other than crushing frustration amidst
the mounting uptick of "suggestions" and obligations and life interferences
at the hands of someone else, something else.

I needed to be in control. I needed to massage cold pieces of butter into flour
with my fingers. I needed to slice ripe peaches, pausing to drink in their
sweet summer perfume before tossing them with blueberries and warm spices. I needed
to carefully roll out a pie crust, monitoring the dough with something akin to parental intuition – instinctively
knowing when it's reached the right thickness to nestle gingerly into the pan.

I needed to feel unbroken.

And to find wholeness in the comforts of my very first pie.

Peach Blueberry Pie
Adapted from Miss Joy the Baker, the Queen of all things sweet
Makes one 9-inch pie

Notes: This pie is home. The sweetness of the in-season peaches, heightened by
the rich syrup from the blueberries and fragrant spices is both nostalgic and
complex. The filling is barely contained by the all-butter crust that stands up
to its contents with a distinct personality of its own. It's a crust that you want to eat by itself – even when
there's no oozy fruit filling to accompany it. Yes, it's flaky, but what seals
the deal is the ample dusting of turbinado sugar and cinnamon on the top crust.
Heated and topped off with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, it's the type of pie
that demands to be eaten two slices at a time.

I hardly bothered to modify the original recipe from Joy (who, if you don't know
already, is a genius in food blogga form), but I did use Minute Tapioca instead of
cornstarch and a smaller proportion of flour to thicken the filling, omitted
the cardamom, and added a smidgen more lemon juice. Mostly because I wanted to
use the word smidgen. (Though really because I have an absurdly indecorous
obsession with lemon juice.) I also made a few changes with the process and
finished the crust with turbinado sugar instead of regular sugar, but all other
components from the original Joy the Baker recipe remain intact (as they should
be).

Either way you mix or roll it, this pie is exactly what you need to be making
now. Even if you don't have a broken TV. Or TV "specialist" trying to
sell you a new surge protector.

Keep in mind: The key to flaky crust is keeping the butter
as cold as humanely possible. Cut cold butter into cubes then stick back in the
refrigerator or freezer while preparing other ingredients for the crust. In a
medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar and salt. Measure out the water into a small bowl and whisk together with the apple cider
vinegar. Place in the refrigerator to keep cold. (Are you sensing a theme
here?) Using your fingers, quickly massage the cold cubes of butter into the
flour mixture until the dough is somewhat shaggy and the butter pieces are no
larger than the size of a pie. Make a well in the middle of the batter and dump
in the cold water/vinegar. Stir together with a fork until all the floury bits are moistened and the dough is starting to come
“loosely” together.

Dump out the dough on a floured surface or cutting board and divide in half.
Gently knead into two flat disks. Don’t worry about visible butter pieces –
that’s exactly what will help ensure a flaky crust!

Wrap the discs in saran wrap or press 'n seal wrap (I prefer the latter) and
refrigerate for at least an hour. If short for time, pop in the freezer for
20-30 minutes and it should do the trick nicely also. The point is to re-chill
the butter so it's as cold as possible when it goes into the oven.

While the crust is chilling, prepare the filling. Quarter
peaches (with skins still intact!) into quarter-inch thick slices. Toss with
blueberries. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, ground ginger,
cinnamon, and nutmeg. Sprinkle over the peaches and blueberries and gently stir
until just integrated to avoid bruising the fruit. Combine Tapioca with the
lemon juice and the juices that are starting to form at the bottom of the bowl
of fruit. This will begin the dissolving process and start to thicken up at
least some of the juices prior to baking. Add to the fruit bowl, again,
stirring gently until just combined. Place in the fridge to chill.

Crack the egg into a small bowl and whisk to form an egg
wash. In another small bowl, use a fork to combine the cinnamon with the
turbinado sugar. Set aside while rolling out the dough.

Remove one of the dough discs (don’t you just love
alliteration?) from the wrap and roll out into a 13-inch round, pausing to
re-flour the rolling pin to keep the dough from sticking. You’ll want to roll a
few strokes in one direction and then rotate around the pie to ensure an even
thickness and somewhat circular shape. It won’t be perfect, but that’s okay
since you’ll have extra dough to snip off. Fold the dough in half to transfer to the pie
pan, and then gently unfold and nestle into the pan. Place in the refrigerator
while you roll out the top crust.

Follow the same instructions to roll out the top crust to
create an identical 13-inch round circle. Remove the bottom crust from the
refrigerator and gently spoon the filling into pan. Fold the top crust in half
and use kitchen shears or a knife to cut four, one-inch diagonal slits
approximately one-inch apart in the center so the steam can escape while the
pie bakes. Cut three, smaller, half-inch diagonal slits between those slits. This
will create an almost “lattice-like” effect without all the effort of cutting
the top crust into strips.

Transfer the folded crust to the pie tin, unfolding to cover
the filling. Use the kitchen sheers or knife to trim the edges of the crust so
there’s just about 1-inch (or ¾ inch if you prefer less crust) overhang. Use
your fingers to press together the top and bottom crusts, pinching to crimp the
edges. With a pastry brush, lightly coat the top crust and pinched edge with
the egg wash and then generously sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar mixture.

Place a cookie sheet on the bottom rack of the preheated
oven to capture the escaping juices, and bake pie at 400 degrees for 15
minutes, then lower heat to 375 for the remaining 45 to 55 minutes. The pie is
done when it’s golden brown on top. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire
rack for at least 2 hours before serving so the juices have time to solidify a
bit. Slice and serve topped with vanilla ice cream. Store in the fridge for up
to 3 to 4 days.

TOTALLY get it!!! Baking is such a fun way to take control of your life! I too love JTB, do you have her cookbook? It's wonderful! We should have a JTB recipe potluck! I'm sorry about your TV, but not sorry that such a sexy lookin pie came out of it. :)

I tried baking a pie for the first time yesterday, but it I messed up on the cooking time so it got a little dried out. Your's looks amazing, I think I'll try your recipe next. I like the way you put holes in the top, and how you connected the top, and bottom crust, it looks awesome!

About Me

Maybe it was during my trip to NYC in July, 2006 when my older brother took me on a culinary tour of the city. Or maybe it was when I discovered that steak tastes better when not charred black. Or maybe it was present all along -- just waiting for the right moment to spring forth.
Some may call it obsession, others might call it gluttony, but I call it passion. My name is Diana, and I love food.